I had Lap Band surgery on August 17, 2010.
I had my Lap Band removed on December 30, 2013 due to a severe slip. These are my stories.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Getting Back to Normal

Funny how Beth Ann wrote about the same thing I am about to write about...listen to your body! You know what's best for YOU.

For several weeks now I've been unable to eat much in the way of solid food. For example, I tried to eat one meatball 2 weeks ago and regretted it for several hours to follow. I wasn't quite sure what went wrong and why my band was getting tighter instead of looser with the passing of time.

Although I've enjoyed the weight loss aspect of not being able to eat much, I knew in my heart that this was not the 'right' way to be losing weight, not to mention I was afraid of my hair falling out again!
It got so bad over the weekend that I was unable to drink my morning protein shake without significant discomfort. Then came the dreaded warning sign of heart burn. I felt I had waited long enough and made an appointment for a slight un-fill. Keep in mind that I haven't had a fill since January so for things to be changing like this now was a big mystery for me.

Here's what the doc told me...
Once there is inflammation or irritation around the band, for whatever reason, it typically will not go down on its own. There's no rhyme or reason to the band and everybody is different. An un-fill would be required to allow the inflammation to go down.

I had given it a good try for a couple of weeks and stuck to mushy foods to no avail, it was time for intervention. He removed .5cc from my band, leaving me with 5 in a size 14cc band. I seem to recall I was comfortable when I was at 5 before, and 5.5 seemed just a smidge too tight.

I can tell you that almost immediately I felt relief. I realized I had learned to live with a 'choking' feeling all the time. Once it was gone, I knew I had been suffering needlessly and shouldn't have let it go on for so long (just hoping it would go away on its own).

I asked him if I might have a slip. He says I would be in pain if there was a slip. Although I was having some discomfort while trying to eat, I wouldn't describe it as pain. Just a really uncomfortable fullness, like after a big Thanksgiving dinner when you know you've had one scoop too many of that stuffing!

Here's what I know for sure after this experience...

It is NOT normal to hear water gurgling and squeaking, trying to get through the band.
It is NOT normal to not be able to eat any solid protein (chicken, fish, etc.)
Living on pudding and oatmeal is NOT normal.
Burping and hiccuping your dinner 4-5 hours after you attempted to eat it is so NOT normal.
Feeling like you're choking every time you eat is NOT O.K.
Making crappy food choices just so you can get something in your system is NO way to live your life.

I am happy to say that I ate my oatmeal for lunch today (docs orders to keep it light today) with no discomfort, no burping, no heartburn.

Hallelujah, AMEN, I am FREE!
I feel like a new woman.
I hope this was helpful to anyone out there who is wondering if their band is too tight and what to do about it.